another senseless death...(a rant, sorry) (Read 452 times)

shyrunner07

posted: 5/20/2007 at 11:59 PMmodified: 5/21/2007 at 12:00 AM

gah, why do people insist on driving after consuming alcoholic beverages? and
found out this weekend that one of my classmates from high school died in a car accident, the driver of her being under the influence. While i was sad to hear that, it didn't really "hit" me right away...we were more acquaintances than anything in school...i do remember that she was a sweet girl though, and fun to chat with during classes...
but, as i was reading the article in the local paper (http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/297000264421894.bsp), it went from being an "oh that's too bad" reaction to an "omg!", when i noticed her surviving relatives, one of which is her brother.....who happens to be a good friend of my hubby. I never knew that she had a brother....and when i later met Ben while hanging out with dh's friends, it never occured to me to ask about the shared last name...
now the story has hit so much closer to home....my heart is breaking for her family now. I can't imagine how hard this must be...to be forced to say goodbye to a daughter, a sister, etc...
Oh wait, scratch that, yes i can, as my next door neighbors lost their son to the same type of accident nearly 3 years ago...I'll never forget the night they got the news- being condo neighbors, we share adjoining walls, and I was up on a potty run late that night...I heard the sudden and piercing wail from his mother- gutteral and shrill at the same time....I saw the police leave the driveway first followed by his parents whose tires screeched as they made that furious race to the hospital, in a desperate race to be there for their son's final hours...Everyday for the last 3 years, i've seen up close, the grief and shock that is permanently etched on their faces. I've never been in a situation where i've had to decide whether to drive home impaired (hell, i don't even drive if i've taken anything other than tylenol), but on the day my neighbors had their lives irrevocably changed, it became all the more clear why that is not to be done. Two young lives have ended with so much promise that lay ahead of them...Two families now have the rest of their futures forever altered...no child will call them up just to say "hi"....one less place setting will be at the table during the holidays....Not to mention the families of the respective drivers, who have to deal with the grief of knowing their child played a role in such an event, and the resulting repercussions....
all because someone was too selfish to say "hey, i don't want to deal with the annoyance of finding another driver, or having to come back later on for my vehicle, but i'm going to have to because i've had too much drink and my mental state is impaired." Seriously. It might seem like such an aggravation to hand over the keys, but is it worth it? Most of the times, probably nothing would happen and the driver would make it home safe...but is it worth the risk? The risk that maybe just that one time, luck wasn't on their side and something like this were to happen? And why is it that when these things happen, the drunk driver walks away (or is pulled away) with "non life threatening injuries"?
If anyone here is spiritual, i'd appreciate it if you could send up a couple of prayers for both the Bedore's (my neighbors) and the Flanders' (my classmate and sister of my husband's friend)....and if you feel so compelled, i know MADD would appreciate a small acknowledgement...

'15 Goals:

Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson